Title: A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

Series: Dungeons and Legends #4 (standalone within the series)

Author: Sara Farnsworth

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

Quest objective: To hide from the past, to seek redemption, and to solve the riddles plaguing the city.

In need of a fresh start, Zorina settles into a new life as an assistant shopkeeper. This supposedly simple existence quickly becomes complicated as unwanted attention continues to fall on her—and as young women start to mysteriously disappear. Keeping her past hidden in light of this new scrutiny proves increasingly difficult, and she dreads the moment when all of her secrets will be revealed.

Former huntsman Herrick works as a city guard to keep the peace and to escape from his sordid past. He hopes that patrolling the city and investigating its strange mysteries—from the ridiculous to the haunting—will help him atone for his past mistakes.

But secrets can only stay hidden for so long—especially when evil lurks in the shadows, seeking to destroy the tenuous peace they’ve found. Armed with a sword, a magically unlimited pouch, and a pottery-smashing red panda, Herrick and Zorina must learn to work together to stave off the encroaching darkness.

As the truth reveals puzzles from the past, Herrick and Zorina begin to trust and rely on each other—and maybe even start to heal their damaged hearts. – summary from Goodreads

*I received an ARC from the author, and all opinions are my own.

A Fable of Riddles and Redemption is a retelling of the Phantom of the Opera and the Pied Piper with magic, redemption arcs, and dual POV!

I am not at all familiar with the Phantom of the Opera, but I did like this introduction to this story. Since I am not familiar with this story, I cannot speak to if this stays true to the original or of easter eggs, but I really liked it. It was a well done, and a nice introduction to this story. I am more familiar with the story of the Pied Piper, and I love how that was woven into the story. I felt these two stories fit well together. I loved how instead of rats there were red pandas, and how the missing people were incorporated into the story.

This book takes place in the Realms of Caelia world. I have not read the other books that take place in this world, and I don’t necessarily think that it is necessary to understand this book. I think it would have made it a little easier to understand some of the backstory, but the author did a good job of sharing our characters’ backstories throughout the course of the novel. I am excited to read more books that take place in this world.

The characters were wonderful! Both of them were a little grumpy, but I loved that they brought out joy and happiness in each other. I also liked that they were both grumpier and a little more serious than you typically see in books.

I enjoyed Zorina and how she was trying to forgive herself based on her past. She was interesting and I liked following along with her story. I also loved how she took in Anala. Anala is a mischievous red panda, and I loved the inclusion of this animal in the story. I also really love that while Zorina had magic, she did not want to abuse it, as well as the fact that she didn’t rely on it. She worked hard and solved things without using her magic most of the time, which I liked.

Herrick was also a wonderful character! I liked his perspective, and I really like how protective he was of Zorina. It was really sweet and heartwarming. He was also trying to forgive himself for past mistakes, which added some nice depth to his character. I did really enjoy when he started joking around more.

The romance in this book was sweet, and I loved the two together. I do think that it was a little rushed. I think there was some of the characters getting to know each other off page, which made some aspects seem a little sudden to me. They were so adorable and I love how much they cared about the other. I also love that Herrick made Zorina feel safe, and that he was so protective of her.

This book has dual POV, which I love, but it also has dual redemption arcs. These characters were semi-villains in previous books, and this book gives them the chance to redeem themselves. This was a wonderful part of the story, and I especially loved the fact that they were honest with each other and accepted each other as they are.

This book is inspired by RPGs, and you could see this in some of the items of the book. There were hidden coins in pots, which is very reminiscent of video games. There was also a magic pouch, which was fun. In other books in this world, there were more monsters that definitely reminded me of RPGs, but the monsters in this book were very brief which did remind me of RPGs.

A Fable of Riddles and Redemption is a no-spice retelling of the Pied Piper and the Phantom of the Opera, with magic, redemption arcs, and romance!

A Fable of Riddles and Redemption is releasing on October 3, 2026.